What would you do with your trash if it wasn't picked up?

Take it to dump! I dont like the fact of all the fees they stick in there either.

The point is, they have no right to MANDATe that I cant opt out, I have a right to basic water services if I CHOOSE.

Im tired of people in the government acting like they are royalty, they are public trustees, they are supposed to look out for our best interest, not spend tax payer money lavishly!

Good luck! My neighbor was charged a 135.00 and still doesn't know why? They haven't provided proof for the charge. She called her council rep (Floyd) he informed her he was on vacation and would call back. I spoke with her yesterday-he hasn't returned her call (5 weeks ago). We will be voting him out! Your right we need to focus on the issues right here at home..

IF we organize and get more people to complain about the issues and our lack of representation, its like being TAXED without representation. They need to change some of their (Illegal Laws) ordenances.

We need to start now, if not its going to be too late, we need to go to their meetings and speak up!

Icy - on this issue, I believe you are a voice crying out in the wilderness. IMHO - the city is acting in the public's best interest by mandating trash pickup. Why? Because YOU might take your own trash to the dump, but I suspect hundreds if not thousands would NOT.

Neighborhoods already are becoming dumps with old wrecks and "debris" that their owners don't consider trash. If people were allowed to "opt out," many would opt FOR paying less but be too lazy to dispose of the trash on their own. And then - WHERE would they dump it if they did haul it off their own property? Perhaps on SOMEBODY ELSE'S property. The problem the city would have with enforcement would be overwhelming, and cause them to raise taxes to increase the number of enforcers.

Then consider what the "garbage fees" actually cover. They include the street sweepers that (occasionally) come around. It includes the pick up of larger, bulk items that are put out by the curb, and the collection of tree/shrubbery debris, leaves, etc.. And don't forget about the DISPOSAL of all this stuff. It has to be hauled off and dumped somewhere by vehicles that need to be staffed and maintained and/or contractors who get paid for doing it instead of the city/county maintaining their own equipment and staffs. And somebody owns the landfills where the trash eventually comes to rest. Those people get paid too.

No - if you think about everything involved, it wouldn't be a good idea to let people "opt-out" of trash pick-up. If this were allowed throughout the country, we'd become "The United States of Smelly Garbage."

According to my current bill, I'm paying $38.44 for garbage/trash collection and disposal. I'm more than willing to pay that relatively small amount to help keep our community cleaner and more presentable. There's no such thing as a "free lunch" - even in garbage collection.

...and another thing: most people don't have the physical capability to haul off their own trash. Do you really think people are going to put a load of rancid garbage in the trunk of their new car or in the back of their SUV - and drive off to a smelly landfill somewhere that will undoubtedly become a quagmire where cars will get stuck when it rains 52 (or more times) a year??? People just wouldn't do it. People DON'T WANT TO DO IT. That's why the city/country residents are paying somebody else to do it for them.

The things is Sebekm that kind of thinking could just as well be used by SOME people to shoot and KILL POTENTIAL killers or to jail them because they fit a profile, or they once did something that was wrong.

In the USA we dont convict anyone of something UNTIL they are proven beyond a shadow of a doubt they are guilty or do we. The recent fast tracking of NDAA will allow Americans to be DISAPPEARED because they are POTENTIAL disidents.

When you start mandating one thing it can easily become acceptable to MANDATE more and more wouldnt you agree?

Why not just let people opt out and if thy dont take their trash away fine neighbors report them and then FINE them.

This same argument can be made for everything against the CONSTITUTION.

READ your bill item by ITEM, part of it are just fees, same as if you pay for gas, a hefty FEE of nothing to pay for line usage, What Im paying to use their lines and the gas?

We have allowed this to happen because we THINK our nieghbors MIGHT do something, not because they did it, but because tehy might?

You understand how AGAINST the Constitution that is right?

And how about the lavish offices and spending of mayor to go to Mexico?

Have you read about the citys and Liberty counties TRAVEL expences?

What the heck are they traveling for? Are they royalty? ITs rediculous!

The U.S. Constitution was "ordained and established" - in part - to "insure domestic Tranquility" and to "promote the general Welfare." It also created a government to do this. Why? Because people left totally to their own devices will ultimately devolve into lawlessness, disorder, and chaos. The Founding Fathers knew this, and that's WHY our system of government was created.

Mandating a system for trash collection in towns and cities is NECESSARY to promote the general welfare and ensure that citizens do not have to live and raise their children in unsightly, unsanitary and disease ridden neighborhoods. Trash collection and disposal is a BASIC responsibility of local governments. It is also a basic responsibility of concerned citizens.

This is still a free country where people can live where they want. Anybody who doesn't want to be "subjected" to laws or governmental systems which are designed to keep the rest of us safer and healthier can always pick up a piece of land in the middle of Idaho (or Georgia or wherever) and dispose of their own garbage.

But those who choose to live with (and in many ways FOR) the rest of us have to live BY (and with) the rules and regulations implemented to promote the general Welfare OF the rest of us.

That's the "constitutionality" of things, don'tcha know....

Icy: I have been railing about wasteful spending and funds/resources mismanagement in this town and on this here web site for many years - to include the boondoggles to China, Taj Mahal "legacy" construction, conducting planning meetings and workshops outside the county, unethical conduct by city/county officials and staffs, etc., etc., etc. However, MANDATED TRASH PICKUP AND DISPOSAL IS NOT WASTEFUL OR UNETHICAL SPENDING.

For the vast majority of people who live here, 40 bucks a month is not out line for what is essentially a "fire and forget" system of trash/debris disposal. (And just check out a few episodes of The Sopranos to get a sense of how expensive municipal "waste management" can actually be.)

Also - to allow people to "opt-out" of mandatory trash disposal would require an increased enforcement system and structure which would expand the "police state" you have spoken so strongly against on these web pages. My hunch is that hundreds if not thousands would choose to "opt-out" and then blow off the requirement to properly dispose of their own trash. The city/county would then go into enforcement mode, with fines to start. There's no reason to believe that the people who blew off the payment system and their responsibility to dispose of their own trash wouldn't blow off the fines as well.

Then we have to haul them into court - at taxpayer expense. Those who can't or won't pay the fines get jail time, right? That means that we need more jails and more jailers to accommodate the influx. More taxes there as well. Then I'm sure we'll have "differences of opinions" on whether somebody actually complied with the law and whether their trash actually "needs to be" disposed of. So there will be a few more lawsuits and court time (paid for by the taxpayers, of course).

Then we'll have domestic disputes between neighbors who don't want to live next door to people who have a garbage dump in their back yard. More work for the cops to maintain "domestic Tranquility" and more strained relationships between neighbors. More people hauled into court and sent to jail. More taxpayer dollars expended.

No - we have enough existing problems to deal with. There's no need to pull a Barney Fife and shoot ourselves in the foot on local waste management. Governments have to plan for "worst case scenarios." That's what we elect and pay them to do. The system of waste management in this area and around this country is one thing that seems to be working reasonably well. It's the last thing that I would choose to tinker with. There are much bigger fish to fry.

Sebekm I respecfully disagree with everything you say above. The subtle POLICE STATE we live in now is tarted by simple things like "MANDATORY" garbage collection.

Its the very LEAST of our worries. but to tell me to go live somewhere else as you SUBTLY did, with the NEO NAZI's i just witnessed while traveling, is sad. I want to help community, but I disagree with ANYTHING Mandatory other than what is REALLY needed.

Lawlessness isnt caused by trash collection. How about mandating our COUNTY government STOP spending so frivolously the bill doesnt have to be so high?

They hide fees in things like this. AND THAT IS TAXATION without REPRESENTATION!

The added garbage reads like this
Garbage disposal 4.97
Dry Trash Collection 5.92
Garbage collection 12.46

My point is the city forces you to pay them, no competition, we should allow others to compete then it would lower the prices, right now we have a MAFIA running everything and MAKING US PAY. I dont like Mafia's!

Especially when I see them buying new things all the time, and going on trips to Mexico, or where ever on our dimes!

You can "respectfully disagree" all you want, but if they did it YOUR way the results would turn out MY way. My suggestion is to start a petition on the subject. The number of signatures you get will gauge how well your ideas are received by the local citizenry. In this case, going door-to-door would be better, as nobody pays much attention to online petitions.

(P.S. As your neighbor and based upon my comments above, you can tell I won't be signing up.)

and

".....we should allow others to compete ..."

You never said that. You said you wanted to "opt-out" of mandatory city/country trash pick-up and disposal. I believe they do put out the waste disposal contracts for open bids/competition. Check your facts on that, but I believe I am correct.

And if you think what is going on is "unconstitutional" - you can always hire a lawyer and sue.

Sebekm the reason I disagree so strongly is because the city has a monopoly and MAKES us pay, its like the mafia. Only the government hates the mafia because they hate competition.

AND its unconstitutional because they are forcing us.Its TAXATION without representation.

I dont need a lawyer, and any normal citizen should know ther constitutional rights well enough to know enough to argue this case. A 5 minute reread of it lets you know the FORCED payment of the fees without having a vote is illegal.

The point is ALL these small things "FEES" on us without US VOTING, has got to stop.

The government MAKES us pay federal and state taxes, too. I have no problem with the "garbage tax" because at least on this one I can SEE where my money is being spent.